10/23/2009 @ 6:40PM

Why Apple Is Gushing Hate On Windows 7

Apple
, however, is already pushing commercials attacking
Microsoft
for “broken promises”; touting the Mac as “a real fresh start,” over Windows 7; and pointing to a series of grievous human rights violations against the indigenous islanders of Laputa.

OK, we made that last one up. You get the idea, however. Apple wants everyone to know it wants those Windows XP and Vista users thinking about Windows 7. Or, as Apple’s commercials ask: “If we have to move all of our stuff why not move to the computer that is number one in customer satisfaction?”

But is it too late for Apple to grab those users? You know something interesting is happening when Apple’s online jihadists take a break from slicing up Microsoft, PC makers and journalists to turn their attention to the Mac maker itself.

“Imagine Mac OS X and Mac OS X Server on specific HP, or
Lenovo
, or even
Dell
hardware that would be specifically approved by Apple to run Mac OS X. That would have been an easier sell to enterprise and many consumers.”

Never happened. Mac users, like the denizens of Milan’s Teatro alla Scalaor Yankees fans, are brutally frank. And they’re often right. So, does the release of Windows 7 mark a blown opportunity for Apple?

No. The reality is Apple has already blown it. And the real fear is that Apple is turning its attention away from the Mac, and toward phones and other gizmos. In other words, co-founder Steve Jobs is doing what he said he would do in 1996 when he was in exile at Next and Pixar. “If I were running Apple, I would milk the Macintosh for all it’s worth–and get busy on the next great thing,” Jobs said at the time. “The PC wars are over. Done. Microsoft won a long time ago.”

The worry is Apple will sidle away from a computer business it can never dominate. That’s why slapping Microsoft with both hands this week is smart, even as IDC reports Apple’s share of the PC market has grown to 9.4% of the U.S. market from 8.6% last year.

As long as Apple is stealing market share from Windows, or seeming to, the Apple faithful can upgrade to that next machine with confidence. Making real progress, however, is about to get harder. Hence the commercials.